A growing problem in department stores is the mass theft of merchandise from display racks. Expensive garments, such as suits, are typically hung on hangers which in turn are suspended from a conventional garment display rack in the usual manner. Because the hangers are very easily removed from the rack, a large number of the hangers can be simultaneously removed from the rack quite easily, and this enables the thief to commit the theft during the time that the store is open for business.
One approach is to put the merchandise within locked cabinets, such as is done, for example, with more expensive jewelry. This approach is not satisfactory because it reduces customer accessibility to the merchandise. Another approach employs a rack on which clothes hangers can be hung. The hangers are locked on the rack by a bar which is suitably locked over the top of the hangers. This rack is generally considered too unsightly for a merchandise display rack, and it does not properly space the articles hung on the rack. This is particularly true on a certain standard form of rack which extends at a 30 degree angle relative to the horizontal. Also, this prior art construction is not adapted for retrofit on existing nonlocking display racks.